After All These Years
by deluce
Summary: Cheryl Blossom is happy; she lives a life of luxury in just one of the many estates her family owns, has a fabulously wealthy, smart and attractive fiance and quite literally the world at her feet. She has everything she could want. At least until, a familiar face comes back into her life and makes her wonder if she was ever happy at all. RATED M FOR LATER CHAPTERS! CHONI AU
1. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**A/N :** Hey! This is my first fic for Choni, and it's going to be a long one. This is a furture Choni AU that will also look into their past when they were a couple in high school, how their lives changed from being separated and what happens when they meet again. As you can see from the tags, there will be a moment of attempted rape/ non-con, however, that is not until much later in the story and I will leave a warning at the beginning of the chapter. Comment if you like, all comments are appreciated, but don't feel like you have to comment. I hope you enjoy my first of what is going to be many Choni fics.

The name for this Fic came from the Camila Cabello song: All These Years.

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 **I never prepared for a moment like that. Yeah in a second it all came back, it all came back. Cause after all these years, I still feel everything when you are near—Camila Cabello, All These Years.**

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She was a loose cannon. She always had been, it was near impossible to tame her. This was something that anyone who had ever been around her for long enough knew about Cheryl Blossom. She was a highly impulsive girl, who never really gave much thought to any big decision before making them. She was a self-proclaimed bombshell, and she had made sure to live her life like one everyday. This aspect of her personality had always been an issue for so many people. She always just put it down to the fact that no one could truly handle her, she couldn't be sure if that was true or not, but she liked to think that it was.

Her impulsive nature had especially been an issue for her parents, Clifford and Penelope. The Blossoms were perfectionists and control freaks- to say the very least- they always had been, and they undoubtedly always would be. She and her twin brother, Jason, had always been taught that being perfect and having control was they key to a happy life. However, Cheryl had soon learnt that you couldn't have four people, (all of which vying for and loving control,) living under one roof.

She had soon learnt that there would always be the weakest link, one of you would always break. In Cheryl's family, this was usually her.

She had also learnt that on the other end of the spectrum, there was always one person that would control everyone and everything.

One puppet master, pulling all the strings.

One person would always win.

In the Blossom house hold, that one person had always been her mother, Penelope, she was the biggest control freak and perfectionist of them all. She was harsh, manipulative, cold all things that didn't equate to the most loving parent. But, the fact remained that she was a parent, and she had brought two children into this world. Twins. Jason and Cheryl.

Both as alike as two new pins in looks, despite being fraternal and a boy and a girl. Both had the same striking features, the same dark eyes, and the lovely red curls, that made any Blossom known and stand out from the crowd. Penelope had always tried to teach their children the importance of perfection from a young age. She had tried to drill it into them since early childhood that perfection was just as much a part of them as anything else was.

That being perfect was all just part of being a Blossom.

All her life, Cheryl had tried desperately to be the perfect daughter, she had always tried to maintain some semblance of control, just like her parents had wanted them too, just like all Blossoms could. But unlike her family, Cheryl had always found it hard to keep control. Her impulsive nature would always get the best of her in some way or another. All she had wanted in life, was to make her parents proud, she had heard them time and time again parsing her brother, as they built him up to take over the family's maple business, after all, he had been the first born. By exactly three minutes.

All her life she had wanted to show her parents, that she was good enough to take over the family business, to be a Blossom.

A perfect Blossom, in control of everything around her.

But, she had lost count of all the times that she had lost control growing up. She would always end up doing things that she knew her mother would hate. Simply, because she could. As alike as they were in looks, Jason and Cheryl could not have been more different in their personalities.

Jason was calm, collected and always managed to maintain control effortlessly, even when they had been children, will power had always been a strong point for Jason. He truly was the perfect Blossom. Cheryl knew that's how everyone, including their parents saw him. Perfect. No matter how hard she tried to compete with him, she never seemed able. Her mother would constantly compare them in any way that she could. Cheryl soon learned that at best, she would always come second.

She often found herself wondering if other siblings felt like this, did every sibling in the world feel the need to compete with their brothers or sisters? Or was this simply all down to how she had been raised? To be perfect. She never felt good enough when it came to her and Jason, she always felt, inferior somehow. Of course, her mother's words didn't help her any.

Don't do that Cheryl.

Take more pride in your appearance Cheryl.

Why can't you be more like Jason, Cheryl?

Were her mothers three favourite things to say to her. Of course, her mother did focus on the more shallow and materialistic aspects of life. She was forever smoothing out Cheryl's clothing when she was young. Neatening out her wild, red curls, trying to keep them tamed, but just like the girl they belonged to, it was a challenge to get them to do anything other than what they wanted.

By the time she was twelve, she had become obsessed with her looks, as a result of only hearing comments about her features, her appearance, but never her personality.

So pretty.

Pretty little thing.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful, Cheryl Blossom.

Flawless.

Your father is going to have to be careful with you.

Were just some of the comments that Cheryl had heard growing up. The last one had always struck something within her. A shiver running down her spine whenever she had heard it.

I had always sounded more like a threat to Cheryl as it dripped from the mouths of men old enough to be her father, and some older still. She had never really understood it much, and had always asked her mother why people would say it. Why would her father have to be careful? Keep her locked up as she had heard so many people say, always followed by a low, throaty laugh, as if it was the funniest thing any of them had ever heard.

She had always been so confused, and had always been pacified by her mother telling her it was a simple joke, and nothing more.

At least, until she was older, and she knew what their comments had meant.

Then there was no amount of pacifying her mother could do. Nothing worked. The comments made her feel sick to the pit of her stomach.

As she got older, she started to notice difference in how people spoke about herself and Jason; while Jason was told how handsome he was, and he truly was, both of them looked like the winners of some genetic lottery, and they knew it. But still, complements would run deeper than just aesthetics when it came to Jason. He was listed as things with much more substance than just, handsome. He would forever be called smart, funny, generous, loyal.

Somewhere, during this time, it entered Cheryl's mind that maybe, all a woman ever needed to be was pretty. That's when the obsession began to take over Cheryl, at a mere twelve-years-old.

Cheryl would never call herself shallow. Just simply obsessed with her own looks, making sure she was primped to perfection. Just as she had been raised to.

You must always look your best.

Be on your best behaviour.

Beautiful.

Well Behaved, perfect Cheryl Blossom.

If you are not these things, how else will you ever find a husband?

A husband.

The one thing any Blossom woman needed, a wealthy, attractive, impressive husband, whom she would devote her life to protecting and loving, and receive the same back, plus a life of lavishness and being a kept woman.

Never having to work for anything.

Just simply having a husband.

A husband.

Never a partner, or a lover, always a husband.

Sometimes, when she was younger, Cheryl would catch herself thinking that maybe, just maybe she didn't want a husband, of course, she would always shake these thoughts from her head. She had heard of stories of people like that, the people who lusted after the same gender as them. The deviants as her mother called them.

Disgusting. Sinners. Deviants.

She had shaken the thoughts from her mind for years, when they would watch movies as a family every third Sunday of the month. The four of them gathered on one couch huddled together as a family. But only ever on the third Sunday of each month. She would watch in silence as the beautiful leading lady would appear on screen, her pretty face in the lights, her make-up only highlighting her elegant, beautiful features. Cheryl would always catch herself thinking about how she couldn't tell if she wanted to be those women or be with them.

Disgusting. Sinners. Deviant.

She would always shake the thoughts from her head, she was none of those things. She wouldn't ever allow herself to be any of those things. Always training her eyes to fall back onto the leading man, still attractive, just in a different way. Rougher, more rugged. Yes. That was the normal. That's what she really wanted. She had done so well in her life, telling herself it was the leading man she wanted, and that she simply envied the leading lady. That's all it was. Admiration, nothing more and nothing less, there was nothing wrong with that.

No. Cheryl Blossom liked men, and men alone. That much she had been able to convince herself of.

At least, until she was sixteen years old, and soft brown eyes, and feminine features had clouded her mind and filled her senses with everything she had ever wanted. Only for it to be snatched away from her so cruelly.

All because she had been disgusting. A sinner. Deviant.

Her mother knew she had been. Her mother had made sure to fix that. The only way she knew how. Get rid of the problem. Of course, the problem had been Cheryl, her impulsive and uncontrollable, deviant ways. She had soon fixed that. Sending her away to a boarding school, with good, strong catholic morals to set her back on track.

No more sin. No more deviance, no more her.

"Cheryl, did you hear anything I just said to you?" The deep, gruff voice pulled her from her musing, she shook her head slowly and blinked rapidly, trying to clear all thoughts from her mind.

"No, I'm sorry." She admitted, her voice just above a whisper.

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes, "Why am I not surprised?" He asked, his tone somewhat annoyed. Cheryl had always been one to zone out and lose focus. Always so easily distracted by the smallest of things. It was just one of the many areas in which she lacked control. "I was gently reminding you that we're having dinner with our parents tonight."

The welcome home dinner.

Cheryl had, in fact, forgotten all about it.

In the weeks prior to Cheryl and Nick moving to Riverdale, after years of living in the heart of New York City, Clifford and Penelope had wanted to have a fabulous dinner for their daughters return. The dinner, was to be hosted by the Blossoms, in the extravagance that was Thistlehouse.

Nick had accepted for the both of them, with nothing but gratitude and excitement, he had wanted nothing more than to move to Riverdale after taking over his families business, it had been seen as the perfect chance to merge with The Blossoms, creating something of an empire for both families.

The Blossoms and , coming together in business and life, thanks to Nick and Cheryl.

Cheryl had never seen herself coming back here. Not ever. It had never been in her tunnel vision plan. She had always envisioned herself somewhere far away after college.

She hadn't wanted to be in Riverdale, neither of them had, they especially hadn't wanted anything to do with Cheryl's parents. She could still hear the soft quiet voice telling her they'd get away and never look back. That it was just them, and always would be. That things would undoubtedly get better.

Away from Thistlehouse. Away from Sunny Side. Away from Riverdale.

But things changed.

Oh, god had her life changed so drastically in six years.

Back in Riverdale, after years away, going back to the cold, harsh reality of her family life, the life that came with being the youngest Blossom, and of course, a girl in the Blossom family tree. Only one thing had gone as she had planned, she was engaged, to a fine suitor. But even that was marred with inconsistency. Even that was sordid compared to what she had wanted. What she had planned. The thing that at eighteen-years-old she had thought was so set in stone.

Nick was suitable enough, she knew that being with him would offer her the stability, support and comfort she had yearned for all her life. She knew that with him by her side she would never have to worry about her next meal, or a roof over her head.

Stability was inevitable.

But it was not the stability she had wanted, that she had needed. Nor was it the support that at sixteen years old she had found and clung to so desperately. He was Nick St. Clair, a young, wealthy and wildly attractive heir to a fortune, just as she was. He was everything she could want in a partner. Or more accurately, he was almost everything she could want in a partner.

Smart? Check.

Attractive? Check.

Devoted to Cheryl? Check.

But still, there was something missing, something, that deep down, Cheryl knew she shouldn't be feeling. Something she had tried to suppress for years, and for the most part, had suppressed for years.

Disgusting. Sinner. Deviant.

The three words ran over and over in her head, the thought of going back to her childhood home pulling back the repressed feelings. The last time she had been in Thistlehouse had been the last time she had seen her.

"Of course, I haven't forgotten about that, Nick," she lied, her red lips pulling back in a smile to reveal perfect teeth. "I can't wait for it." Another lie.

Cheryl could wait.

She didn't want to go back at all.

The last time she had been in Thistlehouse, everything had been different.

Whispers of sweet nothings, declarations of love, and soft promises all tucked neatly in luxurious silk sheets. Of course, in a matter of minutes, her mother had ripped all of that away from her.

Sending her away, all because she had been disgusting. A sinner. A deviant child.

All because her mother had caught her in bed, wrapped in the arms of Antoinette Topaz.

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 **A/N:** Just a side note, I hate Nick with a passion, and I am in no way saying that he and Cheryl would be s good couple, in fact, in this fic you will see quite the opposite. But for the purpose of this fic, an OC character wouldn't fit the bill, not when the writers of Riverdale have already given us a vile creature for a character.


	2. House Of Memories

_**A/N:** **So, each chapter is going to have a snippet from a song at the start of is, some songs will be used multiple times, but each song that is used will have purpose to the chapter, even if only for one section of it. I would highly recommend listening to each song used, not that you need to for the story, just because they're good songs.**_

 _ **Also there might be some (a lot) of mistakes in this that I have missed curing editing, I have been super busy lately and have barely had time to edit or even write. So sorry for any mistakes I have missed. Feel free to leave anything you want in the comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

 _ **A very long chapter purely for the sake of giving a better insight to Cheryl's mind, and her life with Nick.**_

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 **There's was nothing on earth that a girl could do** **, the very first minute that I laid my eyes on you, on you. Turned sheets to the wind, I was all confused, like burning my money, nothing left to lose I knew, I was doomed—Kylie Minogue, Shelby 68**

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 _Annoyed wasn't the word, furious wasn't either; Cheryl could not find the right words to describe how she felt about the Southside students transferring to Riverdale High. She didn't like it one bit, in fact, she would have gone as far as to say that she hated the idea. There was a reason that the Southside of Riverdale had they're own school, and in Cheryl's opinion it was to keep the riffraff away from the North._

 _Stupid asbestos, stupid health and safety code violations. Just let them stay there._

 _Cheryl couldn't have cared less how unsafe it was for them in that building, if they were there, they wouldn't be near her. Which is exactly how she thought it should be._

 _Of course, she had known the odd student from the Southside to roam the halls of Riverdale high, it had happened on the rare occasion, after all; Riverdale High was a far better school than any that the Southside could possibly offer._

 _One or two of them she could have dealt with, especially if they were like Jughead Jones, a boy she had met through her cousin, Betty, he was nice enough, and smart too. If they were all like him, Cheryl would welcome them with open arms._

 _But the last thing she wanted was a hoard of them bursting through the doors, littering her school like the trash they were._

 _The thought of those Sunnyside Trailer Park kids wondering her halls left a bad taste in her mouth._

 _She had convinced herself that it was just rumours, and that when she got to school that Monday morning, there would be no Southsiders, and no serpents. Everything would have blown over, and in years to come it would be remembered fondly, just like all the idiotic rumours that spread around Riverdale._

 _She had been able to convince herself that there was no way Principle Weatherbee would allow a bunch of under achievers into this school and risk besmirching the above average GPA that had been held at Riverdale High for generations._

 _It was only as she entered the foyer of the school that her nightmare seemed to become a reality, in the middle of the main entrance of the school stood a long table, covered with maps and class schedules._

 _Behind said table, stood a beaming Veronica, Betty and Archie, all of them eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Southsiders, along with the rest of the students Veronica had managed to persuade to join the welcome committee. Cheryl stormed over to them before she could even stop her legs from moving._

 _"What is all this?" she snapped._

 _"It's called hospitality, Cheryl," Veronica replied, her tone taking on a mocking edge. Almost like she was trying to explain something incredibly simple to someone incredibly stupid. Cheryl's eyes flickered down to the schedules, before looking back up at the dark-haired girl._

 _"I guessed that," she said, her dark eyes meeting with Veronica's, "What I am asking is why we are showing it." She sneered._

 _"It's for the Southside students," Betty explained, "They start school here today, we just wanted to make them feel like they are just as part of this school as we are. We want all of them to feel welcome. Jughead says a lot of them are apprehensive."_

 _"Then they should have stayed where they were, that or moved to a school in Greendale." She shrugged._

 _Archie sighed in exasperation, "Cheryl, we're making it known that our school doors are open to anyone." He said, "Everyone deserves the right to a good education, not just us. So we're going to show them some hospitality, if you don't like it, don't be here when they arrive."_

 _Cheryl shook her head slowly, "You're all making a huge mistake." She shrugged, "it won't be long until those serpents spread their venom around here." She smiled smugly. Somewhere, in her own head, she realised that she sounded so much like her mother._

 _She hated it._

 _But her opinion remained the same, having those Southside children in their school would cause nothing but trouble. For everyone involved, that much she was sure of._

 _Jason came to stand beside her, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Is everything okay here?" he asked, looking between the welcome committee and his visibly irritated sister._

 _Betty nodded her head slowly, "Yes," she replied, "Just some strong opinions about the Southside students transferring here. But everything is fine, Jason." She smiled at the Blossom boy._

 _Cheryl rolled her eyes at their cousin before turning her attention to the small group making their way into the school, her eyes fell onto seven of them, all clad in black, leather jackets. She would know people like that anywhere._

 _Serpents._

 _The Southside Serpents had resided in Riverdale for years and had become notorious within the town. Known for their drug runs, violence and deviant behaviour. Her mother and father had told them countless tales of the serpents and just what they were. Scum of the Southside._

 _She watched them all carefully, they seemed to move with purpose, swaggering over to the welcome committee at the other end of the hall. Cheryl couldn't wait to wipe the smug looks off their faces and knock them down a peg or two, she would make sure that she put them all in their rightful place._

 _She couldn't help but notice how they all seemed to hold stoic expressions on their faces, as if they were ready for anything should it happen._

 _As she looked into their faces, she noticed just how attractive the boys were, in a rugged rebellious way, all of them so different to the likes of Archie Andrews and the other boy next door types at Riverdale High._

 _Especially the three boys that seemed to be leading the cavalry, all of them had jet-black hair. She knew one of them well, Jughead Jones, she had always thought he had a sort of rebellious charm about him, not that she would have ever admitted that out loud._

 _The energy the boys on either side of him emitted was palpable, she could feel it as they got closer and closer. One of them, was tall and broad and had a mop of hair on his head, his eyes seemed narrowed, his jaw tense, he looked as if he was just as unhappy to be there as Cheryl was at having him there._

 _The boy on Jughead's left had a softer expression, his hair gelled neatly into place, unlike either of the other boys, but still, he had the smug look of the other serpents etched onto his face._

 _She readied herself for the onslaught, oh all the comments she had thought up, she had enough to tear all of them down, and send them running away one by one._

 _But then, her eyes landed on her. The only girl among them. Any coherent thought she'd had left her mind, there she stood with her mouth open, all signs of her witty comments gone._

 _Chery Blossom was, for the very first time in her life, speechless. She had never seen anyone like this girl in her entire sixteen year. It felt like all the air had been swept from her lungs, as if time had come to a complete stand still around her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest._

 _She had never felt anything like this before, all over some girl. But not just any girl._

 _A serpent girl._

 _A Southsider._

 _Scum as her mother and father would call them._

 _She had been brought up her whole life to believe that the Southsiders were trash and that they weren't even worthy of cleaning the dirt off Jason and Cheryl's shoes. Yet, Cheryl could not take her eyes off her small frame, the loose curls of her fair, the brown eyes that Cheryl could only describe as plump curve of her slightly chapped lips, it entered Cheryl's head that no Hollywood starlet she had ever seen could measure up to this girl._

 _Disgusting. Sinner. Deviant._

 _As her mother's voice entered her brain, Cheryl quickly removed all thoughts of this girl from her mind, reminding herself profusely of what her mother and father had told them their entire lives._

 _"There is nothing wrong with the act of admiration, it is when lines become blurred that deviance occurs and that is where the sin lies."_

 _Of course, Cheryl had heard these words so much more than Jason, the Sunday nights when she would comment on how beautiful a woman was all too much for her mothers liking. Yes, Cheryl heard these words from her mother quite often._

 _When ever she would be caught looking a little too long as a girl in the mall, or unable to remove her eyes off the cover girl of a magazine in a store, her mother would give her a, not so gentle, reminder of how sinful and deviant her actions were._

 _She would not be those things. Not now. Not ever._

 _Admiration Cheryl, that's all it is. Clean cut admiration. There is nothing wrong with that._

 _She told herself repeatedly._

 _Who wouldn't admire someone that truly, and purely beautiful?_

 _She was convinced that even her mother would find it in herself to admire this girl and find her beautiful, she didn't understand how anyone could see her as anything but._

 _"Welcome to Riverdale High School, home of the Bull Dogs," Veronica's all to chirpy tone pulled Cheryl from her musings._

 _She watched as the girl quirked her eyebrow slightly, a small smirk playing on the edges of her lips as her dark eyes scanned the welcome committee before landing on Cheryl. Suddenly, her smirk seemed to grow, her eyes travelled the length of Cheryl's body. Before moving back up to her face, their dark eyes locked briefly, and Cheryl found it hard to look away "T hanks, happy to be here." The pink haired girl replied, she slowly moved her eyes away from Cheryl to look at Veronica._

 _Cheryl was bought back to reality by the murmurs of quiet hellos all around her, and it was then that she remembered where she was, who she was and just what this girl in front of her was. Her parents' voices ringing loud and clear in her head._

 _Southside Scum._

 _Nothing._

 _Trash._

 _Veronica opened her mouth to say something before Cheryl cut her off, "I'd like to say the feeling is mutual but, we don't want people like youhere."_

 _The pinked haired girl's eyebrows rose as she turned her attention back to Cheryl, a bemused look on her face, "Excuse me?" she asked, her raspy voice cutting through the halls. She was sure she had never heard a voice like it. The gravely, yet soft sound taking her by surprise, she hadn't known what she had been expecting this girl to sound like, but that wasn't it. Nothing could have prepared her for how alluring that voice sounded._

 _She shook the thoughts from her mind, now was not the time to be having invasive, and inappropriate thoughts._

 _"Yes, people like you." Cheryl snapped. "Underachievers, riffraff, trash, scum, take your pick Serpent." She all but spat. "All of them, perfectly describe you and your clan of ragamuffins."_

 _"Oh, I dare you to say all of that again," She threatened taking two steps forwards._

 _"Happily, Queen of The Buskers." Cheryl began to move closer to her, watching as the other girl widened her eyes, Jason's hand wrapping around her wrist was the only thing that stopped her movements, holding her in place._

 _"I have a better idea," Jughead offered, "We'll all stay out of your way, as long as you and the rest of the Northsiders promise to stay out of ours?" he said trying his best to placate the two girls, he looked between them, neither girl wanting to back down first._

 _Jason nodded his head slowly, "You've got a deal." He replied, "We won't bother any of you." Cheryl looked up at her brother, before turning her attention back to the crowd of serpents, all of which nodded at Jason's words. She wondered how he did it. How his voice and demeanour was alway so much softer than her own. How he always managed to be so... Jason._

 _Sweet, calm, mild mannered, Jason._

 _It was in moments like this, when Cheryl lashed out and lost her control, and Jason brought her back down to the ground again, that she realised she would always be second best, she would always be the 'unkind' one._

 _She would always be, Impulsive, explosive, Cheryl Blossom._

* * *

"Cheryl," Nick all but yelled, once again pulling Cheryl from her stupor for must have been the fifth time that day; she hadn't been thinking about anything, she had simply been watching that world pass her by.

Blurs of green, browns and greys streaming past her eyes as Nick drove them from their new home in Hawthorn Manor (just one of the many estates the Blossom's owned,) to Thistlehouse where Cheryl had spent the best part of her childhood.

She hadn't always lived in Thistlehouse, there as a time, however brief it was, that she her mother and father, and Jason had lived in the lavish Thornhill, by far the biggest estate that they had owned. Cheryl had lived there for the first seven years of her life.

She had been heart-broken when they had been forced to move out of it after it had been destroyed in a freak fire. She'd been told the story when it happened, how a candle had been left lit, and the window left open, a light breeze had caused one of the curtains to be blown into the flame, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Thistlehouse was nice and had been big enough for the four of them to live in allowing them to have bathrooms joined onto their bedrooms.

But it simply wasn't Thornhill, and it had taken Cheryl almost a year to get used to the grandeur of Thistlehouse. It was smaller, and somewhat older than Thornhill, it had a much more Gothic vibe to it, she hadn't thought that to be possible, especially given the family cemetery at Thornhill, which happened to be the only thing left there.

Of course, the Gothic wasn't helped by the art work that hung on all the walls, which was much different to the bright colours of the Monet's and Picassos that had lined the hallways of Thornhill.

Cheryl had learned to see this place as home, as much as she had disliked it to begin with. But now she was heading back, and that feeling of sadness, that had resided in her so strongly at the age of seven had reared its ugly head as the thought of returning to Thistlehouse clung to the forefront of her mind.

Ever since she had attended Sisters of Quiet Mercy Catholic High School she had not been in Riverdale, after her parents' decision to send here there, they had called in a favour with Great Aunt Patricia Blossom, of course, she had been more than happy to take Cheryl in and set her on the right track.

Anytime her parents had wished to see her, which was only on holidays and Jason and Cheryl's birthday, the three of them had gone to visit her in Rhode Island with Patricia, but never inviting her back to Riverdale.

Never giving her the option of seeing her again.

"Are you feeling okay?" Nick asked, "You seem very distant today." He commented, "Very not you." He sighed, "You've hardly spoken."

Cheryl took a deep breath, she knew she'd be distant, she knew that all day she had barely said two words to him, but she knew she couldn't tell him the truth, at least, not the whole truth.

"I'm fine." She sighed, "I guess I just don't know how to feel about being back here." She admitted, "I haven't set foot in this place for six years now. I honestly never thought that I'd be back."

Nick rolled his eyes, he's heard it all before, during their discussion about moving- of course, there hadn't been much to discuss, Cheryl had made her disdain for Riverdale well known, she had told him that she didn't want to go back there, ever. Nick had over ruled her saying it was what was best for them, and whenever Cheryl had tried to protest, he had simply silenced her with a kiss, and told her he knew what he was doing was the right thing.

So 'they' had decided to move to Riverdale.

"I know, but you need to trust me." He smiled softly, "This is what's best for us gorgeous. I just know it is."

Cheryl sighed again, it was always the same thing.

Trust me, this is for the best, I know it is.

I know what is best for us in life, Cheryl.

Don't you worry your pretty, little head, I'll do it.

She was getting slightly sick of hearing those things. People always made her feel like she knew nothing, like she didn't need a say in things. All she had to do was sit back, and just look pretty.

But all she could ever think about what how no one could be sure of anything, she had learned that a lot in her life.

"You say that, Nick, but how can you really be sure?"

"Because, this is the opportunity I have always wanted; the chance to take over my family business, and now, I have the chance to merge with your family business and build an empi—"

"A business that I have no claims to?" Cheryl cut him off, "A business that I don't really care about and a business that—"

"Cheryl." He all but snapped, "We are doing this, I am your fiancé, it is my job to take care of you. The best chance I have of doing that is taking over my dad's business and becoming partners with Jason. To do that we have to be here. End of discussion." The finality in his voice made Cheryl shrink back into her seat.

The drive seemed never ending, the closer and closer they got the Thistlehouse the more Cheryl wanted Nick to turn around the car. She hadn't been there in so long. The thought of stepping back into that house made bile creep up her throat.

Nick had been excited to see the home that Cheryl had grown up in, maybe overly excited in Cheryl's eyes.

Of course, over the last five years Nick had met her parents on several occasions, the Blossom's and St. Clairs had been seen together countless times in the space of their relationship.

However, it had always been on Cheryl's terms, forever refusing to meet up anywhere other than Manhattan, or a simple restaurant in the city. He had asked time and time again if he could visit Thistlehouse, but Cheryl had always dismissed his persistence.

They had never been seen together in Thistlehouse, and most certainly had never been in Riverdale, she hadn't wanted to bring Nick here, not ever. There were far too many memories, lingering in every facet of the small town. There were too many ghosts, waiting around every corner for Cheryl and far too many chances of running into them.

That was one thing she never wanted to happen.

Nick knew very little of her past in Riverdale, she rarely spoke of her friends, only dropping one or two names. She had done very well throughout the whole time they had known each other to never mention one person in particular.

Nick knew nothing of her ex paramour, he knew she had been with people before him, but knew nothing other than that. Cheryl had always intended to keep it that way. Somethings were better left unmentioned.

The relationship she had with her was one of those things.

As the car turned onto the asphalt, and she heard the ground beneath the tires crunching she looked up to see the house from her childhood growing closer. She had never felt more sick or anxious in her life.

In that fleeting moment when her eyes first fell of Thistlehouse, she was sure her heart had stopped beating, all she could think about was thatnight. The last time she had been there, things had been anything but pleasant. She could still hear her mother's words in her head.

No daughter of mine.

Disgusting. Sinner. Deviant.

Serpent Scum.

The last time Cheryl had been here, had undoubtedly been the worst night of her young life.

* * *

When she and Nick walked into the house, the familiar smell of her childhood instantly filled her senses, the same old smell she had remembered, a faint maple smell, sweet and rich. The smell reminded her of just how much her life had changed since the last time she was here, reminded her of just how much time had passed since the last time she had set foot through that door. She couldn't help but look around her surroundings; everything was as she remembered it.

Cheryl looked to the side of her only to see Nick looking around the foyer, his eyes wide in wonderment as he took in the rustic decor and the art work hanging on all walls, each one a new piece that Cheryl had studied in her life, or had seen in lavish galleries her parents had taken her to when they learned she had an artistic flair. It was odd to see some of them hanging in the walls, "This is home." Cheryl said quietly snapping his attention back to herself.

"It's amazing, I ca't say I expected anything different, not with how Hawthorn Manor looks. I should have known that Thistlehouse would be just as beautiful." He looked into Cheryl's dark eyes, "Beautiful homes, for a beautiful woman."

Cheryl rolled her eyes and smiled, "As you well know, flattery will get you everywhere with me, though, there are some people in this family that it just won't work on." she admitted, "to win them over it's going to take a lot more work than some cheap, somewhat tacky, compliments."

"Like?"

Cheryl shrugged, "I am going to leave you to work that one out, Nicholas, it wouldn't be any fun if I told you everything." She teased, grinning at him.

There was a beat of silence before she heard her name being called by a voice she hadn't heard in years,"Cheryl?" she heard the familiar, frail voice from the other side of the hall, "Is that you?" she looked up to see her Nana Rose, squinting her eyes slightly, looking towards her, confusion etched along her face.

She walked towards the older woman, nodding her head, "Yeah, it's me Nana Rose," Cheryl smiled, she bent down to pull her beloved Nana into a gentle hug, other than Jason, she had been the only member of the Blossom family that Cheryl had truly missed. There had been the days when she had craved her mother's love and attention, or her father's approval, but she knew they were never going to come, that even if she was at home, her chances of feeling these things were slim to none.

But Nana Rose had always shown her small scraps of love, and as a child, it had been more than enough for her, it was all the love she had known, at least until—

"You get more and more beautiful every time I see you," Nana Rose smiled, she placed a frail hand on Cheryl's face and ran her thumb gently over the apple of her cheek. "Truly stunning." She smiled at her granddaughter before turning her attention to the man beside her, "Who's this?" she asked, her tone shifting slightly, turning harsher almost.

"Nana Rose, this is Nick St. Clair." She introduced them, "Nick is my fiancé, and Daddy and Jason's new business partner, our families are merging businesses." She smiled brightly, no matter how much she didn't want to be with her family tonight. She would be lying if she had said she wasn't happy about seeing her grandmother again.

"Fiancé?" she asked, looking between the two of them, Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "I always thought you'd marry someone different." She admitted. She looked up at Nick, tutted quietly and shook her head. "The last one you brought here was much better."

"Nana Rose, that's not very nice," Cheryl reprimanded. "You can't say that."

"It's my house Cheryl, I will say what I like." She replied, there was a finality to her tone of voice that let both Cheryl and Nick know the conversation was took one last look at both of them, before she left them standing alone in the foyer, as she made her way to Jason.

"The last one you brought here, huh?" He asked, turing his attention away from Nana Rose's back to look at Cheryl.

"Stupid high school fling, it meant nothing, in fact that's all you need to know about it." Cheryl replied, she placed a kiss on his cheek before moving through the foyer and following her grandmother into the living room.

* * *

She had been there an hour and a half already, and had yet to see her father and Jason, shortly after they had spoken to Nana Rose, Penelope had whisked Nick away to the study, leaving Cheryl alone with her mother, Nana Rose and Jason's fiancée, Petunia.

Cheryl had sat in mostly silence, nodding her head, and giving tight lipped smiles in all the correct places as she sipped at her coffee, and listened to Petunia and Penelope gush about Clifford and Jason.

Of course, Petunia had tried many times to include Cheryl, asking her questions about her life, and of course about Nick.

What is it with these women and their lives revolving around their partners, is that normal? Is it normal for me to not want to speak about Nick every second of the day? She asked herself.

"So, are you excited?" Petunia asked, her soft, husky voice pulling Cheryl from her musing.

"Excited for what?" she asked. Cheryl had to force herself not to speak when her mother rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"To be back in Riverdale and to be merging business?" Petunia smiled slightly, "I mean, it's a big deal, and you must be proud of Nick, having such a good business mind at such a young age? I know I am proud of Jason."

"Cheryl doesn't really do excitement much," she replied, "Or pride in other people," she smirked, "Cheryl loses focus if things don't revolve around her."

Cheryl opened her mouth to say something before closing it again. Realistically, she had no answer good enough to defend herself, anything she said could only be used against her.

She did lose focus, quite often, she always had, it was one of the areas in her life that she had the least control over, but it wasn't Cheryl's fault that most people she knew, especially in Riverdale, were painfully dull people, who rarely had anything interesting to say.

"Oh." Petunia replied. There was a beat of silence, before the turned her attention back to Penelope to continue their earlier conversation.

Cheryl rolled her eyes and sighed before taking another sip of her coffee, she should have known that the other girl would have little to say to each other.

Petunia and Cheryl had only met each other once, despite her two-and-a-half-year long relationship with Jason, she and Cheryl had both made little effort to get to know each other. The first and only time she had met her twin's fiancée had been a year and a half ago, when Jason had visited Cheryl in New York. There was something about Petunia that Cheryl didn't quite like, she couldn't exactly put her finger on what it was, but it was there.

It also didn't help that she knew this girl was in no way good enough for Jason, there was no one she knew that was good enough for her brother.

At the thought of Jason, she stole another look at the clock, wondering just how long this business meeting would carry on for, and just how much longer she would have to wait before she could eat dinner, and for the first time in a long time, see Jason.

* * *

Cheryl was used to being ignored, though this time around, it seemed worse than usual, she couldn't quite explain why, but this time it felt cold and lonely. She hadn't expected to be ignored so soon into getting to the house.

She had thought that there would be at least one person who wanted to talk to her.

When she heard the doorbell ring, she felt a small amount of relief wash over her, she had been waiting for Simone and Xander to show at the house since her arrival, she knew, that no matter how much her mother and Petunia ignored her, the St. Clairs would make polite small talk.

Her mother rose from her seat and swept to the door, holding her head high, looking almost giraffe like.

Her heart sank when her mother greeted the guests, and instead of hearing the two familiar voices of her mother and father in law to be, the reply came from a low rumble of many a voice.

Then it all hit her like a ton of bricks; this was no family dinner.

This was in fact, to be a dinner with the Board of Directors, a dinner to welcome Nick and his family into Business with the Blossoms, a chance for their board to meet them for the first time, and to also initiate the St. Clairs into the family.

To make them part of the top one percent, of the top one percent of Riverdale.

She felt sick.

She realised it had nothing to do with having her back home.

It had nothing to do with her parents being happy to have her back in their lives, this dinner had very little to do with Cheryl at all. She realised that her mother and father, as always cared so little about her, yet cared so much about the business, money and power.

This dinner had been set up entirely to further Jason's career and life, to showcase him as a bright new mind in Blossom's Maple Syrup, and to give Nick a chance to prove himself also.

But with Nick came Cheryl.

Cheryl was merely there to keep up appearances, as Nick's Fiancé, and as a Blossom.

The Blossom's had always been the perfect family.

A respected family.

The loving mother and father, who could give their children the world.

The intelligent, charming and gentlemanly son, who would follow in his father's footsteps, and carry on the Blossom legacy, both in name and in business.

Then there was Cheryl, the beautiful and doting daughter. The supposed apple of her father's and mother's eye.

Perfect.

What could be more truly Blossom than that?

Suddenly, she hated being back here more than she had before. She hadn't been looking forward to this dinner to begin with, and now all she wanted to do was run outside, climb into Nick's car and drive herself home, and not to Hawthorn Manor. Home to Manhattan.

Miles away from her mother and father.

Miles away from the business.

Miles away from the niceties and false smiles that tonight would no doubt be filled with.

But she knew that what she wanted to do, and what she had to do were very different things. They always had been. All her life she had been in a battle with what she wanted to do and what she was expected to do.

She wondered, if just once in her life, she would ever pluck up the courage to do what she really wanted.

* * *

She stood in the corner, glass of wine in hand, watching everyone around her, taking everything in. Simone and Xander seemed to have taken to their surroundings like ducks to water, as had Nick.

Not that she had expected anything different.

Her fiancé was a very social man, he seemed to have a way with people, his handsome smile, winning words and charming personality, he'd won Cheryl over in the space of a few weeks, which is something very little people had ever been able to do.

She knew the St. Clairs would fit in all too well, how could they not? They were highly intelligent, wealthy and charming people, just like the Blossoms, they were the very definition of perfect.

She sipped at her wine, watching everyone carefully, just as she always had when she was younger, it was all she had ever known to do at dinners like this, of course, no one had ever spoken to Cheryl much, they had simply made small talk with her as she grew up, asking her about her grades, or her clothing, and as she hit her teen years asking her about her dating life and if she had a boyfriend, they had never spoken to her about anything of substance, but of course they wouldn't. Everyone had known that Cheryl would never take over the business; she had been born second, and had been born a girl.

Cheryl had never even been considered so much as a contingency plan.

She had simply been the daughter to Penelope and Clifford Blossom.

Oh how lucky she was.

As she scanned the room, her eyes landed on Jason as he stood by the fire place with their mother, both of them looking truly breath taking, it was easy to see where Cheryl and Jason got their striking looks, both of them looking so much more like their mother than their father. She stood and watched, as her mother turned her head to look up at Jason, with nothing but pride and adoration in her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

She wondered if tonight would be the night that her mother would look at her this way.

The sound of her name being called from the far side of the room made her turn her head slowly, a small smile creeping on to her face, as she looked at Nick, who beckoned her over with one finger.

She took a deep breath, getting ready to welcome herself back into the fold, to be the perfect daughter they all knew her as, and to make herself known as the now perfect fiancée to Nicholas St. Clair.

Show time.

* * *

She had reintroduced herself to most of the people there and rediscovered how incredibly boring they all were and still hadn't had chance to talk to the one person wanted to talk to the most. Jason.

Every time she had tried to speak to him, he had been swept away by his mother who had paraded him, and Petunia, around. Cheryl couldn't stand the blatantly obvious favouritism. She had hoped that over the years, it would have died out, or that her mother would simply have gotten better at hiding it.

She wondered when her and Nick's time would come, when they would be walked around the room, with a beaming sense of pride from her mother as she spoke about them.

Instead, all night thus far, Cheryl had been making her own way around, talking to people she hadn't seen since she was a young teen.

Cheryl couldn't say much for the people of Riverdale, but she could say much for the board, tonight, they had taken more interest in her than anyone else had. Of course, she knew they were just interested in the gossip of Cheryl's return with her new fiancé.

"It's so nice to see you back, Cheryl," the older woman spoke softly, giving her a tight-lipped smile, "Your mother told us about you going to a boarding school in Switzerland and then living in New York for college. It's wonderful to have you back in Riverdale, we've all missed that stunning smile around here."

In Switzerland.

The words ran around Cheryl's mind in a haze, it had never occurred to her to ask her mother or father what they had told people in the six years she had been absent. She should have known her parents would have lied about where she was.

But she didn't think they would lie to the extent they had, saying she was in Switzerland. She wondered what her friends had been told, what her friends had thought, all the times she had tried to contact them and had been stopped.

"Cheryl," she was pulled away from her thoughts by a short snap, she blinked before shaking her head smiling slightly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't catch that, please forgive me."

"That's okay, dear, I was just asking how it felt to be back here."

"It's good," Cheryl lied uneasily, "I've really missed Riverdale, New York was wonderful, as was… Switzerland, but home is where the heart is Mrs. Harris." She curled red lips back in a false smile, hoping to placate the older woman somehow.

"Your mother tells us you graduated as valedictorian of your college class?" she asked, Cheryl nodded her head smiling, she opened her mouth to speak before Mrs. Harris cut her off, "Your parents must be so proud of you." She smiled widely at the younger woman.

"Thank you, I hope they are," she admitted, maybe telling the truth for one of the first times that day, all she had ever wanted was for her parents to be proud of her, but she was still to hear those words tumble from either of her parents' lips.

"How could they not be, they have raised such a beautiful young woman,"

"Thank you Mrs. Harris." She smiled, bringing her left hand up to move her hair around her shoulder to allow it to fall into place down her left hand side once again, she noticed the older woman's sharp blue eyes catch the ring on her finger. Like a magpie, they widened as they saw they delicate, piece of jewellery.

"Is that the ring?" she asked.

Cheryl nodded her head and smiled, she held her hand out for the older woman to look at it properly, she grabbed Cheryl's hand in her own, and held it tightly in place, almost as if she was worried Cheryl was going to yank it straight back again.

"Well that is beautiful, is that silver?" she asked.

Cheryl shook her head, "Platinum." She replied, "Only the best."

"Well, it's what you deserve after all, and Nicholas clear sees that," she smiled, "I do hope that one day, Bethany has everything you do." She smiled. "Did you know she's studying Law at Yale?"

Cheryl smiled, "I didn't know that, you must be very proud of her."

"Of course, we are, I just hope that one day she has everything you do, she is already half way there being at an Ivy League school, though she hasn't quite met the love of her life yet."

The love of her life.

She didn't know why, but every time she called Nick this, or thought about Nick like this, she got a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, something she had never experienced before.

Something she could only put down to nerves and cold feet of getting married at a young age.

Her life, it seemed, was only just beginning, and yet, she was already with the person she would be with for the rest of her life, at just twenty-four years of age, she had committed her life to another.

And he had committed his to her, it always made her stomach knot, but she thought that was only natural.

* * *

"Cheryl, stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles," her mother warned her, Cheryl rolled her eyes, and sighed, smoothing her face out slightly. She looked at her mother, her dark eyes sad, Penelope rolled her eyes as she looked at her daughter? "What?" she asked.

"Why are there so many people here, mother?" Cheryl asked, her voice only just above a whisper. She didn't want to run the risk of anyone on the board hearing her. She knew how much her mother hated rudeness. She and Jason had been raised to have impeccable manners, especially in the company of those their mother and father considered important, worthy. She knew that even at the age twenty-four-years-old she ran the risk of being reprimanded, and her mother would have no problem doing it. But she needed to know why this was happening tonight. "I thought that it was just going to be the family. Why all this?"

"Because, Cheryl." Penelope replied, her tone seemingly tired of speaking to her daughter already, it had only been a matter of minutes, but Cheryl could already see her mother's frustration building. She sighed before turning to face the younger woman, "Tonight is a big thing for us as a family. You have returned to Riverdale after six years," she smiled, there was something about that smile, the one that never reached her mother's eyes, the one that she had grown so accustomed to growing up in the Blossom house hold, and the only smile her mother ever gave her. It would always make her heart sink. "You are back here, you have a more than suitable fiancé, who is becoming part of this family and merging business with us. It was important for the board to meet the St. Clairs, it was important for us, for your father and Jason—"

"So, it has nothing to do with me being back?" Cheryl cut her mother off, throughout her life, she had been reprimanded heavily whenever she had, but this time she hadn't been able to stop herself.

Penelope grabbed two glasses of wine, handing one to Cheryl, "It has something to do with you being back, we need you here to complete the picture. The Blossoms, all together again in Riverdale, bringing in new blood, to both the family and to the business, and that is thanks to you Cheryl. Your father and brother need this. Don't mess it up." Her tone left no room for debating, no room for defiance and deviant behaviour.

Just like when she was a child, always being told to behave.

Be on your best behaviour, Cheryl.

Don't mess this up, Cheryl.

Keep control, Cheryl.

Jason was never given these warnings, they trusted that their son could keep control, could keep up the picture perfect image.

But Cheryl was impulsive, unpredictable. Cheryl came with warnings.

She knew it was never going to be any different.

Don't mess it up.

Those four words clung to every inch of her mind, she wondered, how her mother possibly thought she could mess things up, Nick was joining the family, merging business, creating an empire, the St. Clairs and the Blossoms, how could anything possibly go wrong?

Cheryl took the glass from her mother, and tilted her head slightly, "I won't mother, I promise." She replied.

Penelope gave her another tight-lipped smile, Cheryl's brown eyes met with her mothers, and once again, she saw no hint of a smile in them. She wondered if she ever would. "Good." she sighed.

"I do have one question though, why do people think I was in Switzerland?" she asked.

"Well what other explanation did you expect us to give for your absence?" Penelope asked with a truth, "We were hardly going to tell them we sent you to the Sisters, if we did that, we'd have to tell them all about our daughter's sinful and corrupt ways and that is never going to happen." Her smile dropped before she walked up to Cheryl, whispering in her ear. "You would do well to not correct anyone about where you were."

Cheryl felt her spine go ridged and felt her blood run cold.

She had been given enough threats in her life to know that her mother followed through on her warnings. The older women didn't need to say anything else, Cheryl knew her life wouldn't be worth living if she let the truth slip.

* * *

"Just how did you meet such a handsome and charming young man, Cheryl? I don't believe there are many of them out there anymore."

"We met at a mixer in college," Cheryl smiled politely, her eyes blurring slightly as she looked at the woman across the table she knew she should slow down with her drinking, but she wasn't sure she could handle all of this sober. "It was for Halloween, so we'd only been attending Columbia for a couple of weeks." She explained. "I had just joined Omega Delta and Nick had just pledged to Capa Zeta." Cheryl explained.

"I don't remember much of that night honestly." Nick interjected, "I just remember being stood with my new brothers, and then I look to my left, and I see the most gorgeous and sophisticated woman I have ever seen in my life, in this stunning red dress. I knew that I had to get to know her and make her mine the second that I saw her."

Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "He was very charming," she continued, she knew this dance well, how they each told a section of the story, people seemed to eat it up, saying how in sync and perfect they were for each other as they fell instep telling the tale of the night they met. It was always planned, so well thought out and fabricated, but people loved it. "He walked over to me, introduced himself, and I was instantly attracted to him, we spent the whole night talking and at the end of the night, he walked me back to my dorm."

"I asked for her number, before saying goodbye and giving her a kiss on the cheek." He gave a tight lipped smile, as he looked at Cheryl, seeing the intoxication showing in her eyes. "I called her the next morning, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, and she'd had a little to drink, I wanted to make sure she was okay and that I wasn't some drunken mistake."

"We must have talked on the phone for hours." Cheryl sighed, "and he asked me out."

"We had our first date that night, and we've been inseparable ever since." Nick finished, as always the end of the story was accompanied by wide smiles, and soft eyes from the women, around them. While the men would clap Nick on the back and congratulate him on getting a girl like Cheryl.

It was in moments like this, that Cheryl knew Nick was going to fit in just fine, and play his part in Riverdale's top family like a seasoned professional.

He would be the perfect husband.

* * *

She looked out of the large window, and across the yard, a small smile crept onto her face, as she saw Jason sat on an old porch swing, rocking himself backwards and forwards slightly. The amount of wine she'd drank that night was starting to take a major effect on her, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes from glazing over and to stop her words from slurring. She became very conscious of making sure she pronounced each word perfectly. "Would you excuse me for a moment please?"

Before the other woman could answer she already started to walk away from her, for once that night not considering how rude she may appear. She made her way through the kitchen and pushed open the heavy door to the back yard.

Her eyes never leaving Jason, trying her hardest to focus on him, as the world around her seemed to spin ever so slightly. She walked over to him, slightly unsteady on her feet, both due to the grass under her heels and the amount of alcohol coursing through her body.

"Room for a little one?" Cheryl spoke softly, Jason looked up at his sister, his dark eyes slightly glassy from the drinking, he nodded his head slowly.

"Always." He replied, Cheryl smiled and sat down next to him, it had been a long time since she had seen Jason, a little over a year, he'd visited her in Manhattan with Petunia so the two girls could meet for the first time, during that visit she had hardly spoke to Petunia, and had been entirely focused on Jason. Cheryl hadn't realised just how much she had missed his presence until now.

She watched as Jason took a long drag on his cigarette, he always found a way to look so dignified, no matter what he was doing, Cheryl often wondered if she held the same grace, and poise as her brother.

She watched as the grey smoke seemed to dance threw the air in thin strands, intertwining together in the breeze.

They sat in an easy silence together, things were always so easy with Jason. There was no need for pretences, no need to keep up appearances like there was with everyone else. It was just her and Jason. Without a word he handed her a cigarette.

She took it with a smile and waited for him to light it for her before taking a long drag on it and allowing her mouth to be filled with the taste of menthol, before letting it out with a slow breath.

It had been a while since she had smoked, and instantly she felt any tension and stress wash away from her. Sitting with Jason in their back yard took her back to them being younger, when they would hide from their mother and father to smoke cigarettes Jason had stolen from their father's study on the odd occasion he had been left in there alone.

She brought it to her lips again, taking a much smaller drag this time, letting the smoke billow out of her nose as she closed her eyes, and titled her head back slightly, she hadn't felt this relaxed in a while.

"Mother and father are going to kill you if they see you smoking," Jason smiled softly, looking at his sister with nothing but adoration in his eyes, Cheryl's lips curled up in a small smile. She could hear her father's strong voice in her mind.

Women don't smoke, Cheryl.

The word of whiskey, cigars and tobacco is far too rich for a woman's mouth.

She nodded her head slowly, she had been brought up to believe that while it was okay for men to smoke, there were some things in life that women didn't do, that women shouldn't do. But that never stopped Cheryl, even now as a twenty-four-year-old woman, she knew that if she ever had the opportunity to be in her father's study, she would revert back to their old ways of stealing cigarettes. Cheryl could't simply buy them, the risks of doing that would be too great, just like they had been when she was a teen.

She had always admired how Jason could get his hands on the cigarettes so easily back then, and had admired how he had gained enough trust to be left in the study alone. One thing was for sure, he never left that study empty handed, always taking himself and Cheryl cigarettes, and on the odd occasion, liquor.

While Jason had taken up smoking as quite the habit, Cheryl had never taken to the world of smoking like Jason did, seeing it more as a social act, and a simple stress release when times got really hard, rather than a want and a need. She remembered how they used to hide on the porch swing when their parents had company, or how they would sneak into one of the many barns located around Thistlehouse, making sure they were never seen. While Jason's punishment for smoking at such a young age would have been rough, Cheryl would have received the same punishment tenfold, not only was she smoking so young, but she was also a girl.

Women don't smoke Cheryl.

She nodded her head slowly, "Yes, they would." She sighed, "But, they are far too occupied with the elite and their friends to notice my absence enough to ever come looking for me." she smiled slightly, "So, I quite like my odds."

It wouldn't be the first time that her absence went unnoticed by her parents, she thought back to the time when she was a child and hid for most of one of her parents' many dinners, she was absent for three hours, no one noticed, she soon got bored of waiting for anyone to come looking for her. So, she went back to the dinner, and saw everyone gushing over Jason.

She had been eleven, when she realised that everyone was more interested in what he had to say. No one had known she had even been missing.

"And your fiancé?" Jason asked, his voice always so soft, much kinder than Cheryl's would ever be. She wondered where he got it from. She had gotten the Blossom gene of having a loud, clear voice. Yet, people rarely listened to her, especially if Jason was around.

She rolled her eyes, "He is too busy boasting about his new business venture and having me on his arm to even realise that I am not actually on his arm right now." She smiled, it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Honestly, I haven't seen him much tonight." She shrugged, "I won't see him until all this is over either."

Jason nodded his head slowly, "Ahh yes, of course, now dinner is out of the way, we must be segregated, the men and women cannot mix." She couldn't help but detect the small amount of sarcasm in his voice, a smile tugging at her lips. "Now the men will be shipped into the study, where we will drink our brandies and talk business, while the women—" he trailed off and shook his head slowly, "Well I actually don't know what the women do." He admitted with a soft chuckle.

Cheryl sighed, "From what I remember, the women simply sit and drink wine, while gushing about their husbands and their amazing feats, and just how fantastic it is to be married to masters of the universe." She replied sardonically. "It's all very upper class."

"That sounds riveting."

"It is." She nodded her head slowly, sarcasm dripping off her every word, she took a long drag on her cigarette, during the beat of silence, she blew the smoke out in a slow exhale before speaking again, "How are you enjoying the night?"

"I am enjoying it as much as I can," he smiled, "Enjoying it more now I am actually able to speak to you." She sighed, "And Petunia seems to be having fun."

"Ahh yes, the fiancée," she replied, before smiling slightly, "Petunia Blossom, well that will be a name." she teased. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Okay Mrs. St. Clair yo—"

"Soon to be," Cheryl corrected, "Don't marry me off, just yet." She grinned, "I still have ten months to go."

"My apologies," he replied, smiling slightly, "I can't believe we're both back here, both engaged and twenty-four, when did all that happen?" he asked. Cheryl simply shrugged her reply.

Twenty-four-years-old. Honestly, Cheryl didn't know where the time had gone, all she knows is that she hasn't been here in six years. Not since leaving for boarding school and attending Sister's of Quiet Mercy Academy.

And nothing seemed to have changed, everything still looked the same. When she had arrived, she had seen the same, old tatty Welcome to Riverdale, sign. All she could think was how a better sign would read. Welcome to Riverdale, you can come anytime you like, but leaving is almost impossible.

She was proof of that, the fact that she had ended up back in that Godforsaken town after everything she had been through was proof that you can check into Riverdale whenever you wish, but you can never, truly leave.

Jason narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at his sister, he took a final drag of his cigarette before speaking, "How do you feel about being back?" He asked.

Again, Cheryl shrugged. "I don't know." She replied, "It's weird. I honestly never thought I'd be back here. There wasn't ever anything for me to come back for. You're inheriting the business, just like we always knew you would, I don't even have a place on the board, or anything, there was no reason for me to be here—"

"Until now."

She thought about the lie she had been about to tell, years ago, when she had first left, there had been so much for her to come back to, her friends, her life, and quite simply her, but that was then, and this was now, and for all Cheryl knew they were all long gone, all that was left of them were memories. Cheryl nodded once, "Until now," she sighed, "The Blossoms and St. Clairs coming together, Maple syrup and honey businesses, what better merger?" She shrugged, "It's almost like fate."

Cheryl nodded once, "Until now," she sighed, "The Blossoms and St. Clairs coming together, Maple syrup and honey businesses, what better merger?" She shrugged, "It's almost like fate."

"Shame that they're not pig farmers." Jason retorted, "Our syrup tastes amazing on bacon."

Cheryl chuckled quietly, "That's true, I'll make sure husband number two is a pig farmer, just for you, JJ."

"To Husband number two?" He smiled as he stubbed out his cigarette.

Cheryl nodded her head and smiled, "To husband number two." She joked.

* * *

As the night drew to a close, the Blossoms had said goodbye to the board, each of them had played their part well, and the St. Clairs had well and truly been accepted into the business, and to the family.

Nick and his parents seemed to be the perfect fit.

None of them had kept track of the time, none of them except Cheryl, she had glanced at the clock most of the night, she could feel her eyes straining, and dipping in and out of focus.

She wanted out, she'd wanted out for hours now, and she knew that this was her perfect opportunity. If she didn't strike now, who knows how long they could end up there that night.

"Good lord, look at the time," Cheryl feigned surprise, "Nick and I really should be getting his parents back to Hawthorn Manor." Her smooth voice had interrupted a conversation that she hadn't even realised her father and Nick were having.

It was clear by the piercing eyes and flexing jaw of her father that he wasn't impressed with being interrupted. Rudeness had never been accepted by the Blossoms, Cheryl and Jason had always been heavily reprimanded as children whenever they had interrupted their parents, especially when conversations had revolved around the business or money.

Nick glanced towards Cheryl, she saw a flash of anger in his green eyes. His glare so slight that she was sure it went unnoticed by everyone else in the room, but she had grown to know this look well. It was one she had seen often enough.

He turned back to Cheryl's father and chuckled humourlessly, "I think that I am being given my marching orders." He placed his empty glass on the coffee table, before turning to Cheryl's mother. "Thank you for a lovely evening Penelope, you certainly are a wonderful hostess. But, as Cheryl so kindly pointed out," he glanced at his fiancée, his tone growing tighter, "we should be going." There was something about his tone that made Cheryl uncomfortable.

Penelope scoffed, "Pay no mind to Cheryl, Nicholas," she replied, she flashed a look at her daughter before turning back to the dark-haired boy, "she gets like this sometimes, so neurotic, as I am sure you well know." She added a chuckle, trying to make her comment sound like a teasing remark of an endearing mother.

Nick nodded his head, smiling ever so slightly, "I think we all know how she can be, always a worrier."

"There's no need for her to be, there is plenty of room for you all to stay here, unless, there is a reason you're in such a rush to leave?" Penelope asked, her dark eyes locking with her daughter's

"I see no reason, Cheryl?" Nick asked, arching an eyebrow at the younger woman, all eyes turned to the youngest Blossom in the room, waiting for her to answer, when they were all met with silence a sly, triumphant smile crept along her mothers face.

"Then it's settled, you will all spend the night here." She turned her head to face Cheryl, an air of false excitement filling her tone of voice, "It's been so long since I had both my children back in this house. It feels like normality has been restored to the Blossom family."

The way she said the word normality made Cheryl's blood run cold, she knew the real meaning behind her mother's comments. How her mother felt that her past behaviour was anything but normal.

People like that are dysfunctional.

They are abnormal.

Sinners. Disgusting. Deviant.

Penelope and Clifford had always told Cheryl and Jason how abnormal it was to lust after the same gender as yourself, which, is just what Cheryl had done the last time she was in this house. It was a stark contrast to her life now. Engaged to a wealthy, handsome young man. The life her mother and father had wanted for her. Expected for her.

Normality.

"Thank you, mother, but really it's not an issue. The four of us can just go back home, we'll call a cab, and then Nick and I will come over tomorrow for the car." Cheryl replied, "We wouldn't want to impose on your night." The last thing Cheryl wanted was to spend the night at her parent's house. Doing that meant her staying in her childhood bedroom. The last thing she wanted was to be in that room again.

Clifford shook his head and waved his hand, dismissing his daughter as he swallowed his last mouthful of whiskey. "You can all stay here, we're not going to send you back in a cab like some common plebeians, especially not when you have all had so much to drink. Simone and Xander leave tomorrow, we will show them some true Blossom hospitality for their first visit." He smiled a tight-lipped smile. Cheryl couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Then tomorrow, before they leave, we'll all have a nice family brunch."

"Daddy, we really don't have t—"

"Cheryl, there is plenty of room for you all at Thistlehouse, you will all stay here for the night." There was a finality to her father's tone that Cheryl knew better than to argue with.

* * *

Cheryl pushed the door to her bedroom open and stepped inside slowly, she looked around to see that nothing had really changed, nothing other than the bed sheets, gone were the black, silk sheets of that night, replaced by sheets of the shame sheer material, yet a deep red in colour. They had always been Cheryl's favourite sheets. Her eyes scanned the room, lading on the pictures tacked to the walls, some remained in place, however worn they looked now, yet, there were some blank spaces on the walls, spaces she knew were filled with pictures of them.

She hadn't been expecting this. She hadn't set foot in this room in six years, and yet, it was like she had never left, it was like she still lived there, and stayed in that room every night, it was just as she remembered it, save for those few missing pictures, that she couldn't help but wonder about.

She knew that she should feel a sense of nostalgia seeing this, that her heart should fill with warmth at the thought of her parents preserving her childhood bedroom, but more than anything it made her feel nauseous, more than anything she had wanted to see some difference in here.

New wall paper, a new colour scheme, even just a new set of curtains, anything however small it may be anything to remove the memories of her former years in Riverdale.

Instead, she had stepped into that room, and suddenly, she didn't feel twenty-four anymore, it felt like she was eighteen all over again, only something was different. Something was off. But more importantly being back in that room, it felt like something was missing. No not something. Someone.

She turned around to see Nick's eyes darting around the room, lingering on her bed, she followed his gaze, wondering if something was wrong with the sheets, surely, if there had been her mother would have seen it and removed the imperfection straight away, either by washing it out, or simply throwing the sheets away for new ones.

The Blossoms had no imperfections within their home.

A mentality that Penelope had passed onto Cheryl, everything must have it's own place. Everything must be neat and tidy. Everything had to be perfect.

When she saw that the sheets were exactly as they should be, she looked back to Nick, "What?" Cheryl asked quirking a perfectly sculptured eyebrow at her fiancé.

"This is your childhood bedroom?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it didn't always look like this." Cheryl admitted, "This was teenage Cheryl," she explained. Nick widened his green eye slightly, and let out a low, drawn out breath. "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head slowly, "No. I just wasn't expecting this." He admitted, Cheryl opened her mouth to say something before being cut off by Nick, "I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this." Nick admitted with a small smile, "Who'd have thought you'd have had silk sheets?"

She smiled slightly, the last time she had brought someone into this room, their reaction had been very different to Nick's, she could almost hear Toni's voice telling her that she wasn't surprised to walk into this room and see the lavish four poster bed, donned with deep red, silk sheets.

"What's wrong with the silk?" Cheryl asked.

Nick shook his head, "Nothing," he replied, "Just unexpected. Especially since you were a kid."

There was a beat of silence as Cheryl dropped herself onto her bed, "I told you, teenager. I was like sixteen when we decorated it like this. Mommy and Daddy asked JJ and I what we wanted for our rooms, and I picked this. They went out and bought me the finest silk sheets, a lot of sets, in reds and blacks obvi." She explained, "Then we got an interior decorator to bring my vision to life."

"And you parents were okay with the Brothel-esque boudoir?" He asked, his tone snarky as he looked down at Cheryl where she sat.

"Excuse me?" She asked, "Are you insinuating that I was some teenage harlot?"

He rolled his eyes before leaning down and pecking her lips, furrowing his brown when the kiss went unreturned. He tried again only to get the same response. "Wow. Some one is awfully cold tonight."

"Just don't appreciate being called a whore." She replied with a shrug.

Nick moved away and sighed, "Honey, you know I'm joking."

"Wasn't a good one I guess." Cheryl quipped.

"Are you gonna be like this for the rest of the night?" He asked, "I feel like if you are a warning would be nice." He narrowed his eyes slightly when Cheryl shrugged her shoulders as a reply. "Whatever, I'm gonna go freshen up."

"Okay." She mumbled, "There's usually some spare toothbrushes kept in the cabinet under the sink." She replied dryly pointing to the en suite bathroom. "Or at least there used to be. I guess you can try your luck." she explained drily.

* * *

It had been so long since she had worn the red silky sleepwear, her pale toned legs contrasting against the deep colour of the, potentially too short, shorts. The top clinging to her chest, and her toned stomach.

As she looked in the mirror, memories of her late teen years flooded back to her and how light brown eyes always widened and shone with affection whenever they looked at her. It was so different to how those jade eyes looked at her now, affection still lived in them, as did lust and want, and something she couldn't quite put her finger on, something she could only assume was love.

She sighed before removing the last of her make-up and climbing into her bed, she had forgotten how comfortable this mattress and sheets were. How very different this life style was to the apartment she had shared with Nick in Manhattan, their home had been nice, they had lived a comfortable life, but nothing compared to this. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't missed the finery that their estates provided, Thistlehouse, Thornhill, even the smallest estate of them all, and of course, her knew home, Hawthorn Manor.

The only issue was, that to live life this way, in private estates away from the riffraff, she had to be in Riverdale, and how she hated that Godforsaken town, and the people in it.

She leaned over and opened her top drawer of her bed side cabinet, finding the last book that she had been reading when she had lived her an old, tatty copy of The General in His Labyrinth. She opened it up and automatically it fell to the page that she had read and re-read time and time again, the page with the quote she had permanently etched into her brain since the first time she had read it. The same quote she had circled in a bright red pen when she was a mere twelve years old.

He was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness, 'Damn it,' he sighed. 'How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!

She remembered the first time she had read those words fondly, and how she had asked herself the very same question. She had yet to find the answer to that, she wondered, if she ever would.

Cheryl heard the door click open as she flipped to the first page of her book, it didn't matter how many times she had read it before, she would always want to read it again. The sound of Nick stepping into the room and closing the door behind him loudly made her look up from the page, her dark eyes boring into him.

He moved across the room without a word, though purposefully dragging his feet loudly trying to gain her attention, however annoying it was, she would not give him the satisfaction.

"You looked beautiful tonight you know?" He asked, as he came to a stop just in front of Cheryl's vanity. She simply continued to read, not even lifting her eyes from the writing, though taking none of it in. He sighed in frustration. "I said you looked beautiful tonight." He said shrugging out of his heavy dinner jacket. She could see the anger growing on his face in her peripheral vision and she'd be lying if she said she didn't find it somewhat amusing.

As she looked down at her book, she saw something dark fly across the room, before something heavy land on her legs, she moved her book slightly to see his jacket laying on the bed sheets in a crumpled mess, she looked up to see Nick looking at her, a dark eyebrow arched over his forest green eyes. "I was talking to you." He said, trying to keep his voice light and teasing, but there it was again, the same tone that always went undetected by everyone else in a room, but Cheryl would know anywhere.

"Sorry. I didn't hear you, I was reading." She replied, sarcasm dripping off of her every word as she closed the book and put it back in the top drawer.

"Apology accepted." He replied, "I said that you looked beautiful tonight."

"Tell me something I don't know." She mumbled as she simply folded his jacket, placing it on top of the bed side cabinet, she ran her hand over it once, dusting off the tiny fibre hairs.

"It was actually quite hard for me to keep my hands off of you." He smirked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"When is it not?"

He dropped his shirt to the floor and watched as Cheryl's eyes followed it, widening slightly, she hated mess, any kind of mess, and Nick knew that all too well, he knew this would only fuel the fire.

"Can you pick that up please?" she asked her tone hard, "It doesn't go there."

"It's only for one-night Cheryl, I'm sure you'll live." He replied, as he pulled down his trousers, letting them fall at his ankles before kicking them across the room. Again, he watched as Cheryl's dark eyes followed them.

"I might live, but I would prefer it if you kept this room neat, I had no issues keeping it clean as a child, you should have none as an adult."

"Are you my friend again?" He asked, Cheryl rolled her eyes as a reply, he took off one of his dark socks and balled it up before throwing it across the room, a small smirk on his face.

"Nick." She warned.

"Just answer my question and it'll stop." He replied with a shrug before throwing his other sock to the other side of the room completely. "Are you my friend again?" Nick asked, his tone impatient, he knew that Cheryl could keep this up for hours if she really wanted to. She had once kept this act going for a whole day during one of their bigger fights, which had annoyed Nick to no end.

Both Nick and Cheryl were used to getting what they wanted, their relationship usually came down to who wanted what more. Nick rarely lost, Cheryl usually giving in for an easier life.

"Yes. I'll be your friend again," Cheryl replied with an eye roll, "Just pick all of that up, and keep it together please." She requested, "You'll need them for tomorrow, you have nothing else."

Nick did as he was asked and folded all of his clothes neatly before placing them on top of the jacket on Cheryl's bedside cabinet. "That's all I wanted, Cheryl. Just for you to talk to me." he shrugged, "I don't like it when you get like that." He explained, "It's not fun."

"Well don't annoy me and I won't get like that will I?" she asked, trying to add a light-hearted tone to her voice.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "I didn't mean to annoy you. It was a joke. I'm sorry." He sighed, his tone impatient, something Cheryl had grown used to.

"Apology accepted." she replied, mimicking his earlier tone.

He leaned forwards to peck her lips once, smiling slightly when he felt her add a small amount of pressure back to his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She replied, her voice quiet. He smiled before kissing her once more, this time deeper, and more bruising, their lips finding a rhythm that for some reason that night seemed off, and far too sloppy for Cheryl's liking.

"Can you shut off the light please, I'm sort of tired." She mumbled in between kisses, Nick pulled away and dropped his head slightly, letting out a sigh.

"Sure." He replied, moving over to the other side of the room to flip the switch next to the door. She had almost forgotten just how dark this room was when the curtains were drawn, and all the lights were off, which was exactly how she liked it. A pitch-black room, in complete silence was what she needed when sleeping. "Jesus Cheryl, how did you ever find your way back to bed?" He asked, as he tried to manoeuvre around the room.

"You get used to it after living like it your whole life." She admitted, smiling slightly despite him not being able to see her.

She felt the bed dip slightly under his weight before feeling a pair of rough lips kissing her shoulder. She placed two fingers under his chin, moving his head up to be level with her own. She gave him a ghost of a kiss before moving away and rolling onto her side, her back turned towards him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight?"

She heard the questioning tone to his voice, and simply nodded her head before replying, "Yes, it's late, and honestly it's been a busy few days for us, I just want some sleep." She replied, closing her eyes and trying to settle down for the night.

But when she felt Nick's arm wrap around her waist, and pull her closer to him, she knew that was going to be a hard task.

His lips pressing against her shoulder made her open her eyes, she laid in silence, as he peppered kisses up her shoulder, moving to her neck, when his teeth clamped down harshly on her pulse point, she hissed in pain, which, only seemed to spur him on more.

He sucked, and nipped at her pulse point, moving against her, grinding into her, always keeping his arm locked around her waist, to pull her ever closer to his body.

Nick bit down a little harsher just where Cheryl's neck meets her shoulder, before soothing it with his tongue, it was the same ritual all the time, and while it worked, most of the time. Cheryl could not bring herself to find the excitement in her that night.

She didn't know if it was the alcohol she had drank, and she had definitely had a lot of it, the fact that her parents were only two doors away, and her brother only one door away, or that the last time she had been in this bed she had been with her.

Or perhaps, it was a culmination of all these things.

Whatever it was, it was safe to say that Cheryl Blossom was in no mood for Nick St. Clair that night. As his ministrations continued, Cheryl could feel herself getting more and more frustrated, but not in the way she knew Nick was hoping.

"Not tonight," Cheryl whispered, moving away from him slightly, he let out a frustrated groan before dropping his head and resting it on her shoulder. She felt his teeth scrape across her shoulder blade lightly, before she moved it abruptly, pulling away from him.

"You are such a tease sometimes." He grumbled.

"How am I a tease?" she asked with a small chuckle, a small smile playing on the corners of her mouth.

It soon faded when she heard his reply, "Well, it's not exactly fair is it?" He asked, his tone growing harsh, "You come to bed, dressed like that and expect me to be able to control myself? You know exactly what you're doing, Cheryl."

"Nick, I'm not doing anything. These are the only sleep clothes I have here. I used to wear them when I was in high school, I'm just happy they still fit me. I'm not trying to do anything."

"Then why are you saying no?"

"Because I don't want to have sex with you tonight?" she offered, "I told you, I'm exhausted, we moved back just yesterday, we had a late night and an early morning, we've had a busy few days and I am honestly more than just a little drunk, and my mom and dad are in the room two doors down, and your mom and dad are only one door down and my brother is just next door." She sighed, "Tonight just isn't the best night to do it."

It wasn't completely a lie, she was tired, and she was drunk, but that had never stopped them before. No, the main thing stopping Cheryl, was this room and this bed.

There were too many ghosts and memories in these walls.

Secrets that no one knew.

All of it made bile creep up Cheryl's throat, she could feel it all threatening to spill out of her mouth.

"Parents being close by has never stopped you before." He replied, "Look at all those times we've been at my mom and dad's house and youinstigated sex, you can't play that card with me now." She could hear the frustration in his voice building the more times she said no.

"I think you'll find I can do whatever I want to, and right now I don't want to have sex with you." She all but snarled, "I am going to sleep. Get yourself off if you're that desperate." She spat. She felt Nick throw the covers off of himself before pushing himself out of the bed with an unreasonable amount of aggression. "Where are you going?" Cheryl asked.

"To get some air." He replied with a snap. He left the room, closing the door behind him loudly, Cheryl could feel the anger building inside of her, it never failed to surprise her just how fast he could lose his temper, and how it never had to be anything big, the smallest of inconvenience could send him into a fit of rage.

It wasn't the first time he had tried to coerce her into having sex with him, of course, she had never backed down. She wasn't going to start now.

When she was younger, her mother had told her that men only wanted one thing, and that if Cheryl knew how to use it, the most valuable thing she would have was the one between her legs.

Women sit on gold mines Cheryl, men will do anything to be inside it, remember that.

She hadn't known many men in her life, so she'd had very little chances and experiences to test out her mother's theory.

But if one thing was for sure, her mother's words were true in the case of Nicholas St. Clair.


	3. Everything Has Changed

**Memory lane we're here again, back to the days, and I'll remember you always. So much has changed, now it feels like yesterday, I went away—McFly, Memory Lane**

* * *

Three weeks had passed since the Southside students transferred to Riverdale high, and suffice it to say, Cheryl had hated every second of it. Since they had arrived, they had caused nothing but trouble.

There had never been as many fights in the halls of Riverdale, truancy had gone up tenfold, there seemed to be someone called to the principles office at least once a day and locker searches had never been more of a regular occurrence. There seemed to be a new issue everyday since they arrived and it seemed that all of Cheryl's worries were coming true.

But the worst part about it all for Cheryl had been the small serpent with the pink hair. The one that was always surrounded by the boys, Cheryl would never admit it, but she had never been so intrigued by anyone else. She needed to know everything there was to know about her.

The serpents had been attending Riverdale for a week before Cheryl had learned her name, Toni Topaz; she had tried to feign disinterest as Betty had sat at their lunch table talking about her. But all Cheryl could think about now was her name.

She hadn't been fully aware of her actions when she had asked what Toni was short for, the words had slipped out of her mouth before she could even stop them, she was used to having very little brain to mouth filter, but that day, for the first time in her life, she had hated it.

She had hated it even more when she'd found out that her name was Antoinette, all she could think about was how nice her name was, how different and unique it seemed, just like the girl it belong to. No one had ever had a hold on Cheryl, especially not someone she had never had a real conversation with.

Someone who all her life she had been told wasn't worthy.

Wasn't worthy of anything, someone who definitely wasn't worthy of Cheryl's attention or affection.

But there was something about Toni that intrigued her, and everyday her intrigue had grown even fiercer. It wasn't until the Friday of the third week that the serpents had been there that she had utter words to Toni, not since the minor confrontation she had had on their first day.

Cheryl was sitting in history class, doing her best to pay attention to the lesson despite the fact that it had become increasingly difficult to focus in that particular class ever since Toni Topaz had been assigned the seat directly behind her three weeks ago.

A collective groan echoed throughout the room, startling Cheryl from her distracted musings about what the pink-haired girl behind her was thinking about. She glanced around and quickly caught on that their teacher had announced a pop quiz as he passed papers around and the students rifled through bags and pencil cases for writing utensils.

Cheryl was reaching down towards her own backpack when a small tap on her arm caught her attention and made her heart rate jump. She put on her usual mask of indifference and mild irritation as she flipped her hair over her shoulder to glance behind her.

"Do you have a pen or pencil I can borrow?" Toni asked. "I don't have one."

"Why can't afford it." Cheryl retorted, instantly regretting her words. She was shocked when Toni let out a breathy laugh and shook her head slightly.

"No, I just don't care enough to bring one, what being an under achieving ragamuffin and all." she teased.

* * *

Cheryl woke earlier than she would have liked to the next morning; as the light seeped in through the curtains of her childhood bedroom, her head began to thrum in pain, she hadn't realised just how much she'd had to drink last night, but she was certainly reaping the benefits of her actions now. Her mouth had never been drier, she had a heavy, nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach and a dull pain in her head that only intensified with every breath that she took.

She looked over her shoulder to see Nick lying beside her, his back facing her, she figured he'd spent most of the night turned away from her. Not that she could say she cared. She had heard him creep back into the bedroom in the very early hours of the morning, and had felt him cuddling up next to her, pulling her closer to his body. She shook him off of her harshly.

She'd already told him once that she wasn't in the mood that night, she thought that he'd have understood the first time, even dogs could understand the word no, and yet he had such a hard time accepting it. She figured that was just something she was going to have to get used to, she'd been warned about this behaviour most of her life.

Men have little controlled compared to women, Cheryl.

Her mom had told her that time and time again.

But that didn't mean it made it any easier to repeat herself continuously. In fact, it only made matters worse.

She'd felt him push himself away from her, turning over aggressively in the bed. Before long, Cheryl could hear him snoring lightly beside her; she couldn't help but envy how quickly he had been able to fall asleep.

She had far too many things on her mind.

Being back in Riverdale after all this time.

Her parents lying to her about the purpose of last night's dinner.

And of course, this room, she had never envisioned herself lying in this bed again, the room was deafly silent, save for Nick's snoring.

It had never felt this quiet, and this lonely before. But now, it felt like something was off—missing almost, she just didn't know what. She pushed herself from her bed, slipped on her red, silky robe and made her way down into her parent's kitchen.

She was shocked to see Jason pouring himself a cup of coffee. He had always been such a deep sleeper when they were younger, and was usually the last one awake in the house.

"I didn't expect anyone to be up." Cheryl spoke softly, her brother turned to face her and greeted her with a soft smile, "Especially not you, I didn't think you knew there was a seven am." She joked.

"Well, I've been getting up early for some time now, Petunia thought that getting up early would improve our life style and give us a routine," he explained, "Don't you and Nick have a routine?"

Cheryl nodded her head slowly, "We do. They're just separate routines," she admitted.

"Oh. So you don't have a routine, you have yours and he has his."

"Yeah, but it's the same thing."

"Not really." He replied shaking his head.

"Shut up or I'm gonna bitch slap you, shit bag."

"Well, someone's cranky." Jason chuckled, "Do you want some coffee?"

"Yes."

"So, how are you feeling this morning? You got pretty drunk last night, everything okay?"

Cheryl sighed and ran a hand through her auburn hair, "Well if I am being completely honest with you, I have never felt worse in my life." she admitted, "I know it's my own fault because I drank so much, but still, it's nothing a strong coffee can't fix." she smiled.

"And how are you feeling about, everything else?" He asked.

"Everything else is good." She shrugged, "I mean, Nick and I had a minor tiff last night, but no everything's fine." She smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm great." He smiled handing her a cup of coffee, "I had a good time last night, plans were put in motion, looks like everything could be working out for the better with this new business endeavour."

"Good." Cheryl replied, "The last thing I would want is for the three most important men in my life to have made the worst mistake ever. I'm glad it looks like things are gonna go well."

Jason nodded his head, "Yeah, dad and I are meeting with a marketing team later, we're gonna see what we can do with the new branding. We have a lot of people offering their assistance, but we just don't know who to go with, we need to make sure its the right decision."

"Is a re-brand a huge deal, like can't you just tweak what we already have?"

Jason nodded his head; "It's kind of a big deal. We could just tweak something, but the St. Clair's think a total re-brand is in order, and if we wanna keep this merger going and actually make something of it, then we need the re-brand."

"I see. So what you're saying is, the Blossom's have little control over this?" Cheryl asked.

"Not exactly."

"So how come only you and daddy are going?"

"It was a business decision the three of us made last night. We also thought it would be good for Nick to get a feel of Riverdale, and for you to show him around."

"Oh. Well that makes sense."

"You don't seem to happy about our decision, do you not want to spend time with your fiancé?" Jason asked.

"No. I do." Cheryl replied, "there's just not much to show him in Riverdale."

She wasn't lying, Riverdale on a whole, was an incredibly boring town. It had been when she was younger, and she was almost positive that it would be now she was older. But her real issues with showing Nick around Riverdale, was the chance of her running into her past.

Most people she knew never got out of the one horse town, her mother and father had lived there all their lives, Jason was heading in the same direction, her high school friends' parents had been life long Riverdale habitants. It was almost impossible to get out.

She just hoped, that her generation had been a new wave of Riverdale alum that they had all managed to break free after high school and college.

"You're really not happy about being back here are you?" He asked. "Is it because of her? Because really Cheryl, we've all moved on from that, it didn't mean anything—"

"Jason, that's not what any of this is about." She snapped. "I just think that Riverdale is going to be a very boring place to us. I mean, we're used to Manhattan and now we're here it has nothing to do with her."

Cheryl knew she was lying. It was definitely about Toni. Everything about being back here reminded her of her. She knew what she'd had with Toni was nothing, a childish fling, a phase. But she didn't want to have the past dragged up again.

Not after all she had been through to get away from it. Not after all she had been through to repent her sinful ways.

Disgusting. Sinner. Deviant.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I won't mention it again."

The twins found themselves sitting in silence, sipping their coffees with a tension hanging between them that they had never experienced before.

* * *

Nick had woken a mere fifteen minutes after Cheryl had, she'd greeted him with a tight lipped smile, which he had ignored and rolled his eyes at. The couple had eaten breakfast in silence, with Jason looking between them uneasily. Cheryl wasn't used to seeing Jason so tense, he was the charming one of the two of them, he always knew what to say to break an awkward, tense silence, but even this had left Jason speechless.

After Nick and Cheryl had finished their morning routines, separately of course, Cheryl broke the silence and suggested that the two of them head out to explore her hometown, she knew it had already been decided for them the night before, but she had felt the need to say something, and so, she made it seem like it was her idea. The offer sounded nearly as reluctant as Cheryl felt about the idea, but if Nick picked up on any of her hesitance, he clearly ignored it and even managed to express mild enthusiasm for the plan as he led the way to their car.

Cheryl spent the first part of the day showing Nick around the wealthier parts of town - the Riverdale Country Club, the golf pro shop frequented by many of the club's members, and the high-end boutiques on Poplar Street. As she predicted, Nick was enthralled by these places and his desire to network with every wealthy looking couple he saw ensured that these three stops took up a good part of the day. Best of all, Cheryl didn't have to constantly be on the lookout for familiar faces from her past as her high school friends were not club members and preferred the Riverdale Mall to the upscale boutiques on Poplar.

Cheryl was debating whether or not these stops would be enough to satisfy Nick's interest in exploring the town when he asked to see her old school. She hesitated before realizing that her high school friends had also grown up and moved on, they wouldn't still be hanging around the walls of Riverdale High. Feeling the knot of tension in her stomach loosen the slightest bit, Cheryl navigated their way towards the once familiar building not far from the centre of town. She pointed out various other spots from her childhood from the safety of the car.

After a casual stroll around the halls of her old school and a quick tour of the field where she often led River Vixens practices, Cheryl convinced Nick to return to the car. The feeling of making it through a tour of her hometown without seeing a single ghost from her past left Cheryl feeling giddy. As they were driving down a familiar street, Cheryl began to crave one of her favorite childhood treats to celebrate her small victory - a milkshake from Pop's.

"One final stop - up there on the right." She instructed as she pointed out the neon sign up ahead.

"What is this?" Nick asked with a frown as if the mere sight of the small diner left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I just thought it would be nice to stop by Pop's get some burgers and some milkshakes and head home. There's only one thing I have missed about Riverdale and that is Pop's." Cheryl smiled.

"So we're heading to some greasy spoon diner when we have perfectly good food at home or could just drive into the city?" Nick asked.

Cheryl rolled her eyes, "Do you want to see the place I grew up in or not?" she asked, Nick nodded his head somewhat reluctantly. "Then yes, we are going to Pop's. But one thing," she smiled slightly. "Don't ever call it a greasy spoon diner again because it is so much more than that."

The last time she had been here things were so different, Pop's had been the place of her youth, of all of their youths. Her days had been filled with laughter, friendship and love. As she walked through the front door she was struck by how little had changed. Certain things had been updated or altered since the last time she'd been there, but for the most part Pop's was exactly how she remembered. A wave of nostalgia swept over her and she had to fight to keep her expression neutral as she led the way towards the counter to place their to-go order. Nick was too busy eyeing his surroundings with an unimpressed expression to place his order, so Cheryl simply doubled her order and figured he'd be fine with a burger and fries as long as they ate it at their elaborate, hand-carved, mahogany dining table.

"Cheryl Blossom, as I live and breathe," Cheryl turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, only to see Veronica Lodge smiling widely at her. "How have you been?" she asked, taking a couple of steps forward and pulling Cheryl roughly into an awkward hug. Cheryl wrapped her arm around the other girl hesitantly, only reciprocating the hug for a matter of seconds before pulling away. Veronica looked to the dark-haired boy standing beside Cheryl and gave her a questioning look.

"I've been very well, thank you," she replied, she could feel her heart rate increasing, "Oh, this is Nick St. Clair, Nick, this is Veronica Lodge, an old friend of mine." Cheryl explained introducing them both.

One ghost down Cheryl, six more to go from the inner circle.

"St. Clair?" Veronica asked, reaching a hand out for him to shake, "Of the honey manufacturers?"

Nick nodded his head grinning widely, taking her hand and shaking it once, "That's right, and soon to be maple manufacturers, too. Right Cheryl?" he asked smiling at the redhead beside him.

Cheryl nodded her head slowly. "Right."

"You're merging?" Veronica asked, "Well, I never thought that the Blossoms would ever do anything like that." She admitted, "What's making your family want to?" she asked Cheryl. The red-haired woman opened her mouth to answer before being cut off by Nick.

"Well, we both wanted to expand our businesses, the St. Clair's bought into Blossom's maple syrup, in exchange for the Blossoms to own half of St. Clair Honey, we're merging as businesses and a family."

Veronica gave Cheryl a questioning look, "Nick is my fiancé," she admitted, she held up her left hand showing the dark-haired girl her overly priced engagement ring. Veronica looked from the ring, to Nick and then back to Cheryl, her dark eyes suddenly a lot harsher than they had been when she first saw Cheryl.

"Wow, Bombshell, I never thought you'd come back here engaged." She replied dryly.

"Why?" Nick asked.

Veronica sighed and turned to face him, brown eyes meeting with green, "I guess I just never thought anyone else would be good enough for her."

She knew that by Veronica's words she didn't mean it in the way it could sound; that no one else in the world would ever be good enough for Cheryl Blossom, no, Cheryl knew all too well, that Veronica was simply stating that no one but Toni would be good enough in Cheryl's eyes.

An awkward beat of silence fell over the trio before Veronica's face lit up in a smile, "The others will be so excited to see you," she insisted as she began to lead Cheryl towards a booth at the far end of the diner.

"Others?" Cheryl said with a nervous edge to her voice, she glanced around the brunette dragging her by the wrist to spot a blonde ponytail, a grey beanie, and a familiar redhead at the booth she was being led to. Her tense posture relaxed the slightest bit at the lack of pink hair among the group, though she was far from excited at the prospect of the unexpected reunion. She glanced behind her to see Nick trailing dutifully after her and Veronica, a confused and mildly vexed expression on his face.

"Cheryl!" Betty was the first among the trio seated at the table to notice the redhead following after Veronica. The blonde quickly climbed from the booth to greet her cousin with a friendly hug while the two guys seated at the table turned to face Cheryl with surprised expressions.

Cheryl welcomed the hug from her cousin before forcing a smile on her face as she greeted the two seated at the table, "Hello Archie, Jughead."

"Hey Cheryl," Archie replied as Jughead offered a small wave, his gaze sweeping over her critically, as if he was already drafting up an article about her unexpected return in his head.

A brief silence fell across the group of friends as Betty and Veronica settled back into their seats. Cheryl's gaze swept over her friends, noticing the tiny changes in their appearance that marked the six years that had passed since she had last seen them.

"Nick ," her fiancé introduced himself, stepping around Cheryl to shake hands with the two guys at the table and offering a polite nod to Betty before falling back in step next to Cheryl, shooting her a brief admonishing glance for not introducing him to the group.

"Sorry, this is Nick my…fiancé," Cheryl completed the introduction, hesitating only briefly over the word as she was reluctant to share that with the others, expecting them to react similarly to Veronica to the news. However, she knew if she didn't introduce him as such he would either do it for her or else Veronica would fill the others in.

She watched as Jughead shared a glance with Betty and Archie looked over at Veronica who merely raised an eyebrow in return, communicating something silently with her boyfriend.

Betty recovered first and offered the pair standing stiffly at the end of the table a warm smile, "It's nice to meet you Nick, how have you enjoyed Riverdale so far?"

"It's quaint," Nick replied after a moment's hesitation, as if he was struggling to find a word to describe it. "I very much enjoyed the tour of the Country Club you all have here, it's not as nice as the one I was a member of in the Hamptons, but it's not a bad place to play a couple of rounds of golf I suppose."

"Yes, that's what I've always thought," Jughead mused with a smirk, his sarcasm obvious to everyone at the table. Archie covered his chuckle with a cough as Betty shot a look at her boyfriend.

Cheryl could practically feel the awkward tension that surrounded the group, or perhaps it was just her own feeling of unease that she was fixated on. Fortunately, Pop soon called out their order, giving her and Nick an out.

"That's us, sorry we didn't see you sooner or we would have joined. But perhaps another time," Cheryl said with a forced smile, "It was great seeing you all again, enjoy your dinner," she called out, already moving towards the counter and away from the unwanted reminders of her past life.

"Bye Cheryl," Betty called out, the others offering their own farewells to the retreating pair.

Cheryl walked briskly to Pop and picked up their order, she exchanged a brief greeting with the older man who was still as kind as she remembered. She hoped the food hadn't changed either.

The ride back was quiet, only punctuated by a couple remarks from Nick about how the cheap food was smelling up the car or how Cheryl better not let the grease from the bag ruin the leather of the seats. Fortunately, they arrived back at Hawthorn Manor without incident and Nick seemed to visibly relax as soon as they were back in their expensive estate.

"Your friends seem—" Nick trailed off as he shrugged out of his coat, "Nice?" he offered, his word sounding much more like a question.

"You don't like them. Do you?" She asked, dropping herself down onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Did I say that?"

"It's not what you said, it's the way you said it, Nicholas."

Nick rolled his eyes and sighed, "It's not that I don't like them, because I do, I guess." He sat on the couch beside her and let his head drop backwards before turning it slightly to face her. "They all just seem really awkward. Not at all the kind of people that I imagined you to be hanging out with."

Cheryl rolled her eyes, "They're not awkward. I haven't seen them in six years. The situation was awkward." She explained, "I mean, I show up completely out of the blue and I'm engaged now?" she shrugged, "I think a lot of people would be shocked about that and act that way."

"So you really didn't keep in contact with any of them when you transferred schools?"

Cheryl shook her head slowly.

Oh, how she had wanted to keep in touch with every single one of them, how she had longed to contact them telling them where she was, how she was being treated hoping they would somehow find a way to get her out.

But every time she tried to contact anyone who had not been placed on her approval list by her parents, her punishment had been most brutal, people could call The Sister's of Quiet Mercy a Catholic boarding school all they wanted, for all intents and purposes, she supposed it was, but for certain people, much like herself, there had been a much darker side to the school for troubled girls, a side that would haunt her for the rest of her life, that much she was sure of.

She shook her head slowly, "Nope." She lied, "It was hard to keep in touch with them, my life was so busy."

"I suppose it also didn't help being in Barrington, Rhode Island?" Nick asked with a small smile, Cheryl shook her head again.

She had gotten used to the lies, Nick knew about her living with her aunt, he just didn't know why. She didn't want him to know anything of her deviant past, at least, not now that she had learnt from it, not now that she wasn't that person anymore.

The Sister's had helped her with that.

"So you really thought all of them were awkward?" Cheryl asked.

"No, I liked your cousin, Betsy."

"Betty." Cheryl corrected him.

"Sorry, Betty." He replied, "She seems nice."

"Betty is amazing, we were so close as kids, all of use were, Me, Jason, Polly and Betty were like best friends, Polly's a little older than the rest of us, but only like a year and a half." She smiled.

"I'm not fond of her boyfriend though, what's his name?"

"Jughead?" Cheryl asked.

Nick screwed his face up at the name, "Who in the right mind calls their child Jughead?" He asked, the disgust evident in his voice.

"It's a nickname," Cheryl replied, in a tone that screamed 'isn't that obvious?' "His real name is Forsyth."

"Well it's stupid either way. No self respecting adult in their twenties should be using a nickname."

"Okay then, guess I'll call you Nicholas from here on out, since you have so much self respect." Cheryl snarked.

"Your sarcasm is one of your most undesirable qualities." He replied, his tone harsh, his eyes narrowed.

"One of? So there's more?" She asked.

"Let's not get in to that, our food will get cold."

* * *

"I still think we should say something to her," Betty protested.

"Well, we don't even know how long she's back in town for," Veronica said cautiously, clearly having changed her mind on the matter, "For all we know, she's leaving tomorrow and she'll be gone for another 6 years before we see her next. Is it really worth upsetting Toni if Cheryl's not even planning on sticking around?"

Betty glanced around the table as Archie nodded along with what his girlfriend said and Jughead gave a small shrug of agreement. She sighed, knowing she was outnumbered and not seeing a point in arguing further. "Fine, but if Toni finds out about Cheryl, all hell will break loose in Riverdale and I will not be taking the blame."

"Fair enough," Jughead said with a small smile directed towards his girlfriend, "But let's just hope Cheryl and her bland, rich-boy fiancé are out of town before it comes to that."

"Agreed." Archie and Veronica replied simultaneously.

Betty smiled slightly, she loved her cousin dearly, but she couldn't help but hope that her fiancé was right, and that Cheryl would leave again just as quickly as she had returned, even if just for the sake of Toni Topaz.


End file.
